


'By Any Other Name

by madamguillotine



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Angst, Comfort/Angst, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity, Gender Issues, Non-Binary Charlie Dalton, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23213686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamguillotine/pseuds/madamguillotine
Summary: When Nuwanda's gender issues get the better of them, Knox sweeps in with what exactly he needs... acceptance.
Relationships: Charlie Dalton/Knox Overstreet
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	'By Any Other Name

_Prompt: A sitting in their bedroom, crying over something, trying to be quiet but B hears anyways and slowly enters the room to see them on their bed with their arms around their knees and their knees. B walks over to them and wrapping their arms around A._

Charlie sat on his bed and sighed. It had been a hard day. No real reason, just the dull ache of being alive. No, not just being alive. Being here, at Helton surrounded by people who just don’t _understand_. He’d always hated his name, the truncated form wasn’t so bad, but his first name was like poison being poured directly in his ears.

“ _Charles_ Dalton… _Charles…_ ” he muttered to himself.

He had a name he preferred and would often to tell people to call him by that as a joke, but if they knew he wasn’t joking. He _wanted_ to be called Nuwanda, at all times, by everyone. But he couldn’t tell anyone this, they wouldn’t understand. He could _joke_ about it. He could _always joke_, but that was the point. Joking about it wouldn’t help anyone, it wouldn’t bring them closer to understanding him, or _him_ understanding himself.

“Understand _what_ ,” he mumbled, quietly. He tipped his head back against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut. He wrapped his arms around his waist, hugging himself, tightly. At this moment Cameron waltzed in and surveyed the scene. He looked at him.

“What’s wrong- “

“No.” he responded voice breaking.

“Go see the guidance counselor or something, _Charles_ ”

There was that name again. _Charles_. How he hated the taste of it. How could anyone want to say it? Cameron turned on his heel and left while rolling his eyes.

“Don’t let the door smack on the ass on the way out!” he called. “Remember! You’re saving it for marriage!”

He brought his knees to his chest and hugged them, he tried to blink away his tears. He picked up the pin-up magazine he kept for teasing his friends. He flipped through a page or two before throwing it across the room. He pressed his eyes to his knees and sobbed.

He was the joker, the jester, the contrarian, and the life and soul of the party. He was, in a word, “Charlie”. But if they only knew how his heart soared when they called him “Nuwanda”. What would they say? What would his _friends_ say? Would they cast him aside with the other freaks of nature?

Knox shouldered his bookbag as he passed their door. He paused, hearing something out of place with the bustling noises of the school. He stopped and looked around until his eyes alighted on him. Knox watched for a second, Charlie Dalton, the life and soul of the party, silently sobbing. He quickly ducked in and shut the door.

He watched for a moment; Charlie hadn’t seemed to have noticed him yet, too caught up with whatever the problem was. He crossed the room and sat on the bed with him and silently put an arm around him,

“It’ll be okay, Charlie,”

He took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge. If he couldn’t say his name to the man who held his heart and didn’t even know it.

“Nuwanda.” He said, quietly.

“What?” Knox said, confused. He had heard the name in jest but never in earnest, like this.

“I want to be called Nuwanda,”

“That’s what I’ll call you then,” Knox said softly. Nuwanda smiled, quietly and looked at him. Their faces were so close together. So close. He turned his head and laid a gentle kiss on Knox’s lips. Knox started, surprised.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I don’t know why I did that!” Nuwanda said leaping to his feet, “I didn’t-didn’t think!”

Knox smiled and closed the distance between them.

“’A rose by any other name would smell as sweet’” he smiled and wrapped his arms around him. He kissed Nuwanda’s forehead. “Yes. Just as sweet.”


End file.
